Return to Reality
by the stargate time traveller
Summary: My concluding chapter of the Susan escape's trilogy. AU Set after The Doctor's wife. Reviews and feedback appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

The third and concluding part to my Susan trilogy, the first stories are Susan's Escape and The Granddaughter and the Clone.

Enjoy and please, leave feedback.

Oh, I don't own Doctor Who in any way, I'm just a fan fiction author.

**The Return to Reality.**

**Crossing the void.**

The Doctor stood by the TARDIS controls, had been for an hour. The events of the planet in the bubble universe, finding out it was a Bermuda triangle of Time lords and TARDISes, actually speaking to his beloved TARDIS face to face for the first time for centuries.

The Doctor's face dropped into a scowl as he recalled the heartbreaking moments of the brutal way House had torn the TARDIS's mind out of the ship. The way " Sexy " as she thought she was referred to died.

The Doctor sat down on the chair near the console and put his face in his hands. The attack House had waged on him, bringing his hopes of another Time lord survivor, or survivors, only for them to be shot down when he'd opened the cabinet that contained the psychic distress calls, their heartbreaking pleas for help, help that would never come, not now the Time lords had died.

House had paid the ultimate price, for an entity the size of a planet, he was nothing but a speck of mud to the TARDIS. The Doctor had heard the way she'd spoken on that hill overlooking the TARDIS junkyard, her voice sad, but holding an undertone of fury, but that fury was unleashed as she attacked House on her own turf.

House had lost the battle, just as the Doctor had known he would, his TARDIS was the best ever created by the Time lords, she may've been an antique when he first " borrowed " her, but she was special to him. He smiled as he recalled her in human form, her quirkiness and the way she bit him, ok maybe not the biting, but she'd been placed in a small shell than that she was used to.

" Her thief," that was what she called him. It made him tingly inside.

The Doctor knew it technically true, he had stolen the TARDIS, just like many of his people of the years had done, including the Corsair. The massive forearm on Auntie's body made him shudder, the news that the Time lord he'd befriended centuries ago had been taken apart for body parts the same way a mechanic would cannibalise a car for parts horrified the Doctor.

When the Doctor had seen that arm, found out the truth, he'd almost, not for the first time, want to kill someone in genuine cold blood, and in unrelenting fury.

Looking up at the Time rotor, he heard a grunting sound and a change in tone of the engines. The Doctor smiled grimly; there was anything he'd learnt over the years was that his ship was attuned immensely well to him, she sensed his mood and the turn of his thoughts.

She knew how he felt, because the TARDIS had felt the same. She'd taken great delight in destroying House, tortured him, shown his images of the numerous TARDIS deaths she'd seen during the Time War. The TARDIS tore him to pieces, infected him with her consciousness and dissolving him.

House may've been a tremendous force on the planet they'd discovered him on, he may have been able to torture and mentally hurt " pretty, " she called Rory, and the " orange girl " as she called Amy, but he was tiny compared to the TARDIS' living mind. The TARDIS had been so confused that she hadn't been able to concentrate on the little things. The body of Idris had decayed the moment she'd entered it, and the death of her body had put considerable strain on her. The TARDIS made it up to them, giving them a bed instead of a bunk.

Now, she was watching over her Time lord, just like she'd done over the years.

The Doctor was still hurting, not just from the way her human self had died, but the way he'd discovered the violent and merciless way the Time lord survivors of House's relentless hunger had been killed, their body parts used for his servants.

The TARDIS had a mental shudder, House had endured her memories that it was only decent that she'd seen his own. The things he'd done….it would be a long time before she showed the Doctor those memories. She only hoped he had the good sense not to ask about it.

The Doctor was about to go to bed, when the TARDIS sounded an alarm. It wasn't loud, but it was enough to grab both their attention.

" What now ? If its another psychic call I'm not going," The Doctor grumbled.

The TARDIS studied it, it wasn't a psychic call. It was from the walls of reality. Something was coming through, and judging from it, it was powerful but gentle to the state of the structure of the universe, something that was in more flux because of the affects of the war.

There was something else…it was a song of all things.

The TARDIS was puzzled, then on closer examination they touched. The TARDIS gasped. It was another TARDIS, another sister. Only this was genuine.

The Doctor examined the controls, then noticed something, " Why have you brought the shields down ?"

He asked that question just as Amy and Rory appeared, " We heard a noise ? What's going on ?" Rory asked, his face drawn with fatigue.

Amy folded her arms, " What now ?"

The Doctor threw his arms up, " I dunno. Something's come through the walls of reality, which shouldn't happen. Ever."

Amy didn't get it, " Why not ?"

" Because Pond, the structure of the universe is like an egg shell, it isn't an egg shell, but it's the best I can come up with. If somethings' coming through…" he trailed off, the implications staggered him.

The TARDIS mind heard the song, it was closer now, homing in on them, and found something interesting….smiling mentally, she opened herself up like a flower opens its petals.

Amy was the first to feel it, followed by The Doctor, " What's that ?"

It was like a …vibration in the air. The Doctor frowned as he felt a change in the timelines. He looked around as they heard a familiar sound.

A TARDIS materialisation sound.

Rory looked at the Doctor, " Is that ….?"

In the corner of the room a tall dove grey pillar appeared in the console room. The Doctor ran over to it, running a hand over it.

" A TARDIS." he murmured to himself, but Amy and Rory heard him. They were about to speak to him, to find out what the hell was happening when the door opened and a woman stepped out.

She was a red head, like Amy, dark red hair, an angular face, green eyes, she was tall but shorter than the Doctor by the head. She looked into the Doctor's eyes and their minds touched.

The Doctor gasped.

The woman smiled, lighting her face up as if it had been illuminated by a sun.

" Hello Grandfather."

A/N Well, there you have it. I still haven't decided whether to make this a long or short story. That depends on the way this story is received. Reviews are more than welcome, as well as suggestions.

Oh, someone asked me, when they reviewed The Granddaughter and the clone to bring Donna back. It's not going to happen, so I am sorry.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who, the BBC does. Thank god for fan fiction, yes. **

" **You're a grandfather ?"**

The Doctor looked at the girl in astonishment, " Susan ?" he whispered in disbelief.

Susan smirked, " I see your brain hasn't improved in speed much, has it ?"

The Doctor wasn't willing to take that, he'd already faced wreckage from TARDISes, found out Time lord had been killed and their body parts were used to patch people up, so he wasn't going to accept this, not unless she showed more proof.

" But, the Time lords are gone. I left you in the 22nd century, you shouldn't even be here." The Doctor said.

Susan looked disappointed, " I travelled, I went to other realities." she patted the side of her TARDIS affectionately, " I didn't spend 34 years with your clone in Pete's world for nothing, how would I know that if I'm an impostor ?"

The Doctor floundered on, he wasn't willing to put his hopes up again. That almost cost him his life, his TARDIS and Amy and Rory.

" But - "

Susan interrupted him, " Shut up, I've had a long journey. What's wrong with you ? This regeneration seems more paranoid than the last."

The Doctor cocked his head, " You've met my clone ?" an earlier comment had popped into his mind.

Susan simply said, " Yes." then she saw that it would take more than that to convince her reticent relative. " Alright, 1963, we stopped off. On business," she added, not wanting to let the humans know of the Hand of Omega; Susan felt that would lead to very irritating questions. " I went to Coal Hill school, where I attracted the attention of two teachers; Ian and Barbara, their married by the way, we travelled back to prehistoric times, you then dragged them to Skaro, we encountered the Thals and the Daleks-"

" Daleks ?" Amy interrupted. Both Time lords glared at her, Susan carried on, " You removed the fluid link because you wanted to explore their city, endangering our lives because you were curious. I bet you regret that now, especially since our race is gone." Susan spat at him.

The Doctor staggered back, " It really is you, isn't it ?" he whispered quietly, sounding like a child.

Susan folded her arms, " You can hear my thoughts in your head, I'm right in front of you, my TARDIS, which I created myself and it wasn't easy, by the way, is right in front of you. Why are you being like this ? I know about your tussle with the Master, but I'd have thought you'd be pleased to see me."

The Doctor shifted his feet, " I am, it's just…." he sighed. " I've just come from a pocket universe, I found this," he picked up the psychic distress box that the message came from and handed it over to Susan.

She examined it, seeing the circle symbol, " The Corsair, he survived the war ?"

The Doctor's face became grim, " That's what I thought at first, but I found that he was dead, his TARDIS was dead, its energy was consumed by an entity the size of a planet. House, the entity, tried the same trick with my TARDIS."

The Doctor gave Susan a brief summary of the recent battle, the TARDIS losing power, Idris, the psychic distress boxes, the TARDIS junkyard, the battle Amy and Rory had had with House and Nephew. By the time he finished, Susan's hand was running over her TARDIS as if to sooth her feelings. She could feel her TARDIS' anxiety.

The Doctor saw this and tried to reassure her, " Don't worry, House is gone. He allowed the TARDIS consciousness back in and she killed him."

Susan felt mildly reassured, but she was still troubled, " If there's one TARDIS junkyard, why not another ?"

Amy interrupted before the Time lords could continue, " Sorry, but Doctor," she turned to face the Doctor, " but who is this woman ?"

The Doctor jumped, remembering his manners," Oh sorry, Amy, Rory, this is Susan, she's my granddaughter. Susan this is Amy and Rory, my present travelling companions,"

Susan looked at both Amy and Rory, both humans seemed surprised. Rory was the first to speak, " But, after all that with House, I thought there were no other Time lords. How can she still be alive ?"

Susan answered him, " I didn't fight in the war, I was travelling in other realities. The number of differences between our reality and others is beyond count, you wouldn't believe it."

The Doctor asked a question he'd been holding back, " You have a TARDIS, one that you said you created ?"

Susan smiled, looked around the TARDIS, and turned her attention back to her listeners, " When I was a child, my parents let me operate TARDISes, but I didn't like them. Any of them. So I created one with features others lacked. For a start, my TARDIS can travel through other realties without worrying about the walls of the universe. Until I arrived in Pete's world I had no idea our people were gone."

Amy couldn't keep silent, " How could you know that ? If you were in another reality…"

" I met the Doctor's clone," Susan said. " During the last years of his last incarnation, the tenth Doctor almost, almost, regenerated. He siphoned the energy off, it was triggered and a clone was made. The Doctor had a psychotic companion called Rose Tyler who he left in the parallel universe with the clone. All because he killed Daleks."

Susan looked at her grandfather, " I hope I don't meet your tenth life. He sounds a little sanctimonious to me. They were only Daleks, they killed our race. What were you thinking ?"

The Doctor didn't reply.


	3. Chapter 3

Susan shook her head when she saw her grandfather wasn't going to bother replying. She knew him well enough to know that his morals had clouded his judgement. If she'd been involved, she would've wiped out every stinking Dalek in existence. Susan couldn't imagine why the Doctor, who knew Daleks weren't capable of redemption, would want them to still be alive. Not to mention their creator, Davros was a monster who deserved death more than anything.

She smiled at Rory and Amy, " Sorry, but after spending time travelling in different realities, travelling away from a fascistic earth government since my grandfather didn't bother asking about how aliens were regarded, and regenerating when her so called hudband shoots you, well you can bet that he's not my exact favourite relative in the universe."

Rory looked at the Doctor, " What does she mean by fascist government?"

Susan answered his question before the Doctor could, " The Dalek invasion of earth, afterwards hatred against other races became more common, ships were gutted, the alien crews were either imprisoned and tortured, or were murdered. I was lucky, but I watched as my husband went from a gentle man into a monster. He even captured me himself, and he tortured me in a cell. He tried to interrogate me, but I escaped in my TARDIS. After he shot me, I regenerated, but David was killed when the TARDIS shot him."

The Doctor bowed his head. For years he'd often been tempted to set the controls for Earth, 22nd century, and see how she was doing, but he'd held off because he was too cowardly. What have I done? He mentally kicked himself. I should've gone back, seen what was happening to Humans, seen what they were becoming, but I didn't because I was too arrogant.

" Susan, I'm...sorry," it was a poor start, but the Doctor wasn't sure what to say just yet.

Susan folded her arms, " Your double apologised to me, so you don't need to worry. What pisses me off though is why you abandoned my clone with Rose Tyler, why didn't you wipe the bitches mind of how to build a dimension cannon? She kidnapped Tony, her own little brother when she found out who I was, trying to force me into bringing her here."

" She didn't?" The Doctor whispered. He was aware of how deranged Rose had become, but hadn't thought it was that bad. Thought, the Doctor mused, not one of my strongest points. By now the Doctor knew he was talking to his granddaughter, the same granddaughter he'd been convinced had died in the Time War. Her distinctive telepathic aura had flooded his mind, and he wanted to hug her, but her attitude didn't surprise him. It hurt him, but he wasn't surprised. He'd neglected her, travelled through time and space, uncaring about whether she was okay or not.

Susan nodded, " She did," she replied grimly. She detailed what she'd done with her.

Amy had had enough, and she wanted answers, " Okay, okay! Stop right there! First, you materialise inside the TARDIS, next you claim to the the Doctor's granddaughter, but who the hell is Rose Tyler?"

Susan smirked, " Emotional, isn't she?"

The Doctor nodded, " She's always been that way." Turning to Amy, the Doctor replied, " Amy, Rose Tyler was one of my companions, former companions, she was lost in a parallel world some time ago, and she claimed to love me, but in reality she loved herself. She risked the fabric of the universe to get back, but I gave her a clone of myself after dealing with the Daleks."

" She treated him like dirt," Susan pointed out. " She stalked me, there was something wrong with her mind, she was so totally obsessed with you."

" Hence the reason I left her in that reality," The Doctor pointed out.

" Pity you couldn't have done a better job of it," Susan retorted. " Listen, I'm going. I only popped in to say I was still alive, and I've done that. I'm going now.' She pointed her sonic screwdriver at the TARDIS console - the Doctor's - and activated it. " I've sent my TARDIS t - mail number to the telepathic circuits. Do yourself a favour, stop being self righteous and become more realistic."

Susan opened her TARDIS, and the time ship dematerialised, leaving a very bewildered but happy Doctor. His granddaughter wasn't dead, she was alive, and she was back.

* * *

><p>Susan breathed in deeply as she took in the sight of the Gallifreyan system. Both suns had been destroyed, and the whole system was a pile of dust and rocks. She closed her eyes, remembering the vivid and longed for memories of Gallifrey; the orange sky, the bright red grass, the bright silver leaves of the trees...<p>

Susan had seen alternate Gallifreys, and each one of them had shared the beauty of her prime Gallifrey, but none of them had been her Gallifrey. Susan had been dreading this sight and image ever since the 10th Doctor's clone had told her, and he hadn't exaggerated when he told her what was left of the solar system of their births. Susan stayed there for another few minutes, hovering in the TARDIS above the remains of a city that no longer existed, lost before its time before she left in her TARDIS. She would have to spend the rest of her lives travelling through time and space, but she could form a plan to rebuild the Time Lords...

Susan smiled as the plan entered her mind...

**Sorry it's a bit short, and sorry of how long its taken me to write this story and finish it. **


End file.
